If 2010 was any indication of what Jamiane Cook is capable of, then two very high preseason honors are predicting he will perform well again for Youngstown State in 2011.  Cook has been named to the Walter Payton Award preseason watch list.  The Walter Payton award honors the top Offensive Player at the FCS level.  The other notoriety shows that Cook has been tabbed a preseason third-team All-American by The Sports Network/Fathead.com.

He is one of just seven running backs on the preseason watch list for the Payton Award, which includes 11 quarterbacks and two wide receivers, and had a breakout campaign in 2010 as a sophomore. A second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection, he rushed for 1,276 yards on 241 carries and scored 11 touchdowns. In eight games of MVFC action, Cook had 973 yards on 199 attempts and scored eight touchdowns. He ranked 13th in the FCS in rushing yards per game (116.0 a game).

He was YSU’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Marcus Mason in 2006. Cook had six 100-yard rushing efforts highlighted by season-high 213-yard effort on 43 carries at Illinois State.

He also caught 25 passes for 219 yards and returned 21 kickoffs for 393 yards showing his all-purpose skills. For the season, he had 1,889 all-purpose yards, averaging 171.6 per game to lead the conference. He finished the campaign ranked ninth in the FCS.

The Payton Award will celebrate its 25th anniversary this season and be presented to the FCS’ outstanding player at the national awards banquet in Frisco, Texas.